The Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 make two targeted changes to Scotland’s local election rules on absent voting. The Scottish Statutory Instrument was made on 2 September 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 4 September 2026 and comes into force on 13 November 2026. The Regulations, made by the Scottish Ministers under the Local Electoral Administration and Registration Services (Scotland) Act 2006, amend the 2007 framework for absent voting at local government elections. The changes are narrow in scope, but they affect both emergency proxy access and the administration of proxy voter signatures.
The first amendment adds a further ground for a late emergency proxy application. Under the new text inserted into regulation 10 of the 2007 Regulations, an elector may apply after 5 p.m. on the sixth day before the poll where the elector cannot reasonably be expected to vote in person because they are accompanying another person who is receiving medical care or treatment on polling day, or is likely to do so. That change does not apply immediately to every contest. Regulation 3 of the 2026 instrument is expressly disapplied for any election where polling day falls on or before 5 May 2027, which means the new emergency proxy ground will only take effect for later local government polls.
The drafting is aimed at a specific administrative gap. The Explanatory Note on the legislation.gov.uk text states that the amendment allows a late emergency proxy application where the applicant cannot vote in person because they will be accompanying another person to medical care or treatment on the date of the election. In practice, this gives returning officers a clearer legal basis to accept late applications in cases where the voter is not the patient but is still unexpectedly prevented from attending their allotted polling station. The test remains a reasonableness test, so the application must show why in-person voting cannot realistically be managed on the day.
The new provision also sets out formal evidential checks. An applicant using this route must explain why the application could not be made before the usual late-application cut-off of 5 p.m. on the sixth day before the poll. The application must then be attested and signed by a person aged 16 or over who knows the applicant and is not related to them. The attestor must certify that the lateness explanation and the required information are true to the best of that person’s knowledge and belief, and must provide their name, address and confirmation that they know, but are not related to, the applicant. The Regulations also define "related" for this purpose, covering a spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild. That structure preserves a verification step while allowing flexibility in short-notice cases.
The second amendment is administrative rather than eligibility-based, but it is likely to affect electoral registration processes more widely. Regulation 4 changes regulation 15A(1) of the 2007 Regulations by replacing "may" with "must every year by 31 January". According to the Explanatory Note, this means registration officers must notify a proxy voter whose signature is more than five years old that a fresh signature must be provided by 31 January. The effect is to move from a discretionary approach to a fixed annual requirement, bringing the refresh timetable into line across Scottish Parliament and local government elections.
For electoral administrators, the practical effect is twofold. Application forms, internal guidance and public-facing advice will need to reflect the new emergency proxy category ahead of the instrument’s commencement on 13 November 2026, even though that particular change will not operate for polls held on or before 5 May 2027. The annual 31 January signature cycle is more immediate. Electoral registration officers will need reliable review processes for older proxy signatures and clear communication with affected voters to reduce the risk of proxy appointments lapsing because refreshed signatures are not returned in time.
The instrument sits within a longer sequence of amendments to the 2007 Regulations, including changes made in 2009, 2016, 2021 and earlier in 2026. The Explanatory Note presents the latest revisions as standardisation and gap-filling rather than a broader redesign of absent voting law. For voters, the most visible result is a new route to request an emergency proxy where care responsibilities arise at very short notice on polling day. For election teams, the more routine but significant change is the compulsory annual signature refresh notice by 31 January. Taken together, the amendments are technical, but they are directed at access, consistency and cleaner administration in Scotland’s local electoral system.